2006 Accord $187/month2006 CR-V LX $195/month By Tim EvansAttorney General Steve Carter has until Monday to appeal a court ruling that opens the door to simultaneous adoptions by unmarried couples -- including lesbians and gays.

But state Sen. Jeff Drozda doesn't want to leave the decision up to the courts. Drozda said he will introduce legislation in 2007 to bar same-sex couples from adopting, which would over-ride a court decision."I think we have an obligation to address and pass something that's much more clear to judges, lawyers and families," the Westfield Republican said.A three-member panel of the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled April 13 that unmarried couples can jointly adopt children.Carter is not expected to announce until Monday whether his staff will challenge the ruling, spokeswoman Sarah Rittman said.Two other Court of Appeals rulings have established precedent in Indiana for co-adoptions by unmarried and gay couples. Those cases involved couples in which a child initially was adopted by one partner, rather than through a joint petition.Drozda said the lack of clear direction has been cited in court rulings. The result: Some judges approve joint adoptions by unmarried couples, while others deny them.The April decision involved a Morgan County case in which a judge attempted to overturn the joint adoption of a child in Marion County by a lesbian couple. The women, who had served as foster parents to the girl since she was a newborn, maintained custody during the case.The judge argued he should have maintained jurisdiction because the child was the subject of a welfare case in his court at the time of the adoption petition. Though the couple also lived in Morgan County, state law allows adoptions to be filed in any county.Appellate Judges Nancy H. Vaidik and John G. Baker ruled the Marion County court had jurisdiction and properly granted the joint petition for adoption. Judge Edward W. Najam Jr. dissented.There is nothing in Indiana code that limits the couple's right to adopt, Baker wrote in the majority ruling. That would change under Drozda's proposed bill.Drozda introduced similar legislation in 2005, but the bill failed to get a legislative hearing. His influence in the Senate as a leader in the conservative wing of the GOP is likely to grow with the primary defeat of Senate President Pro Tempore Robert D. Garton, R-Columbus."I had other bills that were a priority," he explained, "and there was not a lot of interest."Drozda will model his new proposal that bans gays from adopting on a Florida law enacted in 1977. That law was upheld in 2004 by the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta"In my eyes," he said, "that is in the best interest of children and a good public policy decision."But some adoption and gay rights advocates say the approach is shortsighted. With hundreds of Hoosier children waiting for adoption, advocates say such a law could deny many loving homes with gay couples."That certainly doesn't seem to be in the best interest of all the children waiting to be adopted," said Indianapolis attorney Barbara J. Baird, who represented the women in the Morgan County case.Baird said she is confident the Indiana Supreme Court will uphold the April ruling if it is challenged, a possibility that Drozda and others are not willing to leave to chance.Bill Blomquist, a political science professor at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, thinks the adoption issue -- along with abortion and same-sex marriage -- will come into play in the November election campaign."I don't doubt for a moment," he said, "that social issues will be a way for the Republican caucus in the legislature to try to hang on to the House."However, Blomquist said the issue won't be as divisive in Indiana as in might be in many other parts of the country because state Democrats are not especially liberal on social issues. Blomquist added he does not expect the campaign rhetoric to rise much above levels from the past three House elections, when Republicans also turned to social issues."The focus changes a little bit," he said, "but the pattern of finding one or more of these social issues to deflect criticism from the other side is a pattern here, and it is a pattern elsewhere in the country, too."Call Star reporter Tim Evans at (317) 444-6204.

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